Evidence is the cornerstone of a high-performing healthcare system. It is essential for patients and clinicians to know which treatments work best for whom if they are to make informed, collaborative care decisions. Despite this need, only a small fraction of health-related expenditures in the U.S. have been devoted to comparative effectiveness research. Recent activities—such as the creation of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute—are beginning to address this shortfall, bringing the importance of clinical research and evidence development to the forefront of health policy discussions.

As part of its Learning Health System series of workshops, the IOM’s Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care hosted a workshop to discuss capacity priorities to build the evidence base necessary for care that is more effective and delivers higher value for patients. Participants explored issues such as; data linkage and improvement; study coordination and results dissemination; research methods innovation; and the training and size of the workforce, all as they relate to improved medical decision making.